Golf tee



July 20,1926. 1,593.;480

L. F. THOMPSON GOLF TEE Filed Nov. 7. 1925 4 Zlnocnloc f ozzls Z717 hone 95022 Patented July 20, 1926.

NITED STATES I LOUIS FBEDBIOK THOMPSON, OF CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS.

GOLF TEE.

Application filed November 7, 1925. Serial No. 67,600.

Heretofore two types of golf tees have been extensively used, known respectively as the Manhattan and the Reddy, these being the only types which, so far as I am aware, have found favor at all with golfers.

The Reddy is particularly adapted for use of turf tees, but is liable to be lost in the grass by being carried a considerable distance by the blow of the club, and be ng small, it is hard to find, and further, being of wood, it is easil broken, and hence must be carried in consi erable numbers.

The Manhattan, being of rubber, is less liable to breakage, and by reason of its size is less likely to be lost, but is ill adapted for use on turf tees, as the cupped ball supporting portion is very small and light, and

1 henceis easily tipped by the grass so that the ball rolls therefrom, requiring the golfer to make frequent changes before it is finally positioned so that the ball will stay in place.

7 The Manhattan tee is not capable of adjustment, that is, the ball is always held at one and the same elevation, and hence agolfer desiring to change the elevation of the ball has no means for so doing.

The .Reddy tee can, of course, be pushed more or less into the ground, but the golfer has no means of accurately gauging the amount of-elevation- My present invention aims to provide a structure which will combine the advantages of the Manhattan and Reddy tees without having the objections of either, and the invention includes the novel construction and arrangement and combination of arts hereinafter described and defined in t e appended claims' My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which \Figure 1 is a plan view of my preferred form of tee.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of-Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are views of a modification.

Figs. 5, 6and 7 are detail views of a further modification.

. v In constructing my preferred form of tee I provide a ground contact member 1, preferably of metaland of approximately disc shape, having a circularopening 1 therethrough and means such as an eye 1 \by the .tee under impactlof the club, and serving also, by its weight, to enable the tee to be readily located in the grass. Cooperating with the ground contact member 1 is a ball supporting member 4 which comprises a head 4 having a concave recess to receive the ball, the pin 4 being preferably. constructed of metal and having its body por tion or shank of a size to pass through the opening in the ground contact member so that when the pin is in place in the ground contact member its lower point may be shoved into the'ground in ball supporting position. Means are provided by which the pin may be adjustably located within the ground contact member so that the ball ma be supported at different elevations, accoring to the individual tastes of the user.

My preferred means of accomplishing this is to provide the wall of the opening in the ground contact member with an annular groove in which is placed a pin engaging member in the shape of a spring ring 5, a portion of which, at least, is adapted to pro ject slightly beyond the wall of the opening and to engage any one of a series of rooves or recesses 4 in the pin 4. There eing a plurality of these recesses, the amount of gznetration of the pin into the ground will determined by the ground contact member, and hence the height of the ball accurately determined. In order that adjustment of the pin within the ground contact member may be readily accomplished, I prefer to make the walls of all ofthe grooves 4 slightly rounded or beveled so that the requisite amount of axial pressure on the pin will cause the spring to rideout of the groove until it engages with the next notch or groove into which it will automatically spring. The lowermost groove, however, is made with an abrupt or right angular lower wall, as indicated at b, which precludes the pin from being accidentally withdrawn from the ground contact member.

By theaboveconstruction it will be seen that I provide a ball supporting pin which can be adjusted in the round contact memher to the point best suited to the particular player,'and thereafter all he has to do to make sure that his ball is teedup at exactly the same height, is to push the pin into the ground until further movement is arrested by the ound contact member. Being permanent y connected to the ground contact member and to the flexibly connected retardingmeans, loss of the pin is precluded and all the parts being of metal, liability of breakage is reduced to a minimum.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4 I provide the ball support with a pronged head as indicated at 4, instead of a cup shaped head. In these figures I also show an alternative manner of adjustably conmeeting the ground contact member to the shank of the ball support, and the weight or retaining member to the ground contact member.

In this modification I connect the weight or retarding member 3 to the ground contact member 1 by a horizontal hinge formed by passing a hinge pin 5 through aligning hinge eyes in the respective parts The ground contact member is provided with a bifurcation 1 forming two arms having aligned horizontal openings, the bifurcation being of such width as to receive the shank of the ball support which is, in this form, made flat sided or non-circular, and provided with transverse holes or openings 4. When the shank of the ball support is placed in the bifurcation or recess 1 of the ground contact member with the openings d aligned with one of the openin s 4, the insertion of a hinge pin 6 wi secure the ground contact member to the pin so as to etermine the height to which the pin can be pressed into the ground.

Instead of making the ground contact member in the manner disclosed in Figs. 1

r and 2 ,(in the shape of a cast or molded member), I may make it ofsheet metal, as disclosed in Fi s. 5, 6 and 7.

In this form die out a blank of the shape shown in Fig. 5, having a deflected portion 1 forming a locking ring receiving recess, the crown of the recess having an opening e for receiving the shank of the ball holding member. The blank is designed to be bent or folded on the dotted line, Fig. .5, and is provided with a hole e designed to register.

with the hole e when folded or doubled back upon itself, as shown in Fig. 7.

Holes I are provided for the passage of a rivet f for securing the juxtaposed parts together, and additional holes 1 to form an eye for connection to the flexible element which serves to attach-the weight or retarder.

While I have shown and described herein the forms which Iconsider at present the preferred embodiment of my invention it will beunderstood that various other modifi cations and chan es might be inade without deprarting from t e s irit of my invention.

'aving thus descri my invention, what I claim 1s 1. A olf tee comprisin in combination, a groun contact member aving a vertical opening therethrough, a head for supportng a "golf ball, having a ground penetratmgshank 8. adapted to pass through said openad p ed t p s hmghsai ing,-and means whereby said shank may be locked to said ground contact member at any one of a plurality of different elevations.

2. A golf tee comprising in combination a ground contact member having a vertical opening therethrough, ahead for supporting a golf ball having a ground penetrating shank adapted to pass through said opening, said shank having its surface provided with grooves or notches at different elevations, and a locking member carried by said ground contact member for selectively engaging said grooves or notches.

3. A golf tee comprising in combination a ground contact member having a vertical opening therethrough, a head for supporting a golf ball having a ground penetrating shank adapted to pass throu h said opening, the wall of said opening aving a recess, a spring locking member located in said recess, said shank having a plurality of recesses to be selectively engaged by said spring locking member.

4a A golf tee comprising a ground contact member having an opening therethrough provided with an annular recess, a spring ring located in said recess and adapted to have a portion project inward beyond the Wall of the opening, and a ball supporting pin adapted to pass through said opening and having a plurality of grooves at difl'erent elevations to be engaged by said ring.

5. A golf tee comprising a ground contact member having an opening therethrough provided with an annular recess, a spring ring located in said recess and adapted to have a portion project inward beyond the wall of the opening, and a ball supporting pin adapted to pass through said opening and havin a plurality of grooves at different elevations to be engaged by said ring, certain of said grooves having inclined walls whereby axial pressure on the pin will force the ring out of groove engagement. 7

6. A golf tee-comprising a ground contact member having an opening therethrough provided with an annular recess, a spring ring located in said recess and adapted to havea portion project inward beyond the wall of the opening, and a ball supporting pin adapted to pass through said opening and having a plurality of grooves at different elevations to be engaged by said ring, certain of said grooves having inclined walls whereby axial pressure of the pin will force the ring out of groove engagement, the lowermost groove aving an a ru t lower wall for preventing withdrawal 0 the pin from the opening in the ground contact member.

"7. A olf tee comprisin in combination, a groun contact member aving a vertical opening th I h, ahead for supporting olf ball, having a ground gpenetrating PEN-n8 and means I whereby said shank may be locked to said ground contact member at any one of a plurality of difi'erent elevations, and a weighted member flexibly connected 6 to said ground contact member. Q

8. A golf tee comprising a ground contact member, a golf ball supporting member having a ground penetrating shank and means for selectively securing said'ground contact member, to said' shank atrany one of :1 p111- rality of definite predetermined elevations.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

LOUIS FREDRICK THOMPSON. 

